Making life impossible
by talkingtothemoon
Summary: An alternate ending to Gilly's time on Hollyoaks, things are about to get a lot worse for Rhys and Jacqui.
1. Chapter 1

**Making life impossible**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hollyoaks, or any of the characters used in this story.  
><strong>Notes:<strong>I didn't particularly like Gilly's ending and didn't feel it was a very good way to send off such a great character. Therefore, this is an alternate ending to his time in Hollyoaks based on rumours that I'd heard online a few months ago. So whoever posted them rumours, thanks for inspiring me. ;) The views aren't necessarily my own.  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T – There is a tiny bit of language here and there.

**Chapter One.**

It was a cold day in November and winter was vastly approaching. The light was just beginning to escape and the street lights were beginning to turn on, one by one. Jacqui and Rhys had spent their afternoon inside their apartment, making preparations for their potential move to Cornwall. They couldn't take it anymore, the pressure of having Gilly around, every single place they went. All they had to do was step outside the front door and he was suddenly there, as if by magic, there was no escaping him without moving away from this small, claustrophobic town. Rhys hadn't even been able to get a decent job because he'd got in the way. Moving away was the only option for them now and the further away, the better the idea seemed. Besides, Cornwall had all you needed really. The seaside, endless amounts of pasties, pretty views… although the last one probably wouldn't make much of a difference, Jacqui hated nature and all that stuff. They couldn't hang around for a second more just watching Gilly get whatever he wanted, not after what he'd put Jacqui through, after he'd raped her back in February.

"Come here, Terreh, walkies time," Jacqui called her dog, grabbing his lead off the table. Whilst looking back upwards, she caught sight of Rhys carrying the pooch out of their room.

"Found 'im chewing on some of me socks again didn't I, silly mut."

"Yeah well, I keep telling ya to wash the damn things, don't I," Jacqui replied, a curve in her lips as a smile broke through. She secretly liked Rhys' messiness at times, it created more work to do and work helped her keep her mind off of the monster-better known as Gilly- lurking the streets. She took hold of the dog gently, fastening the lead to his collar before walking out of the door with him, grabbing Rhys' hand and pulling him quickly along too.

As they stepped out the door, the cold air hit them; it was beginning to feel like Christmas. Their first Christmas as a married couple; that was something to look forward to. A Christmas without the rest of the McQueen clan was always going to be difficult for Jacqui though, but she knew Rhys would make it special for her. She smiled at the thought, tilting her head up at Rhys and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"What we gonna do for Christmas then babe? All alone, the three of us, in Conwall," Jacqui murmured, her head still tilting up towards Rhys, forcing an excited-looking smile onto her face. Finally, they could live without worrying about when or where they were going to bump into Gilly.

Rhys came to a halt, he stared in front of himself, unable to process what Jacqui had said. His eyes fixated on something and refused to move off of it. Jacqui soon followed his gaze. There were police, three at the most, standing below the steps that led to Chez chez. Frankie and Jack were also stood there, as well as a teary and motionless Cheryl. After pausing for a few seconds, Rhys rushed closer, with Jacqui following nervously behind. Despite their recent conflict with Gilly and in particular Cheryl's newly formed relationship with him, Rhys had always cared about Cheryl and hated seeing her upset. He walked hesitantly closer to the action, looking back just once to glance quickly at Jacqui.

"Chez? Hey, what's happened?" He asked; a quiet and sensitive tone to his voice-as he continued to walk closer, Jacqui still lagged behind a little with Terry. She imagined it'd be relating to Gilly in one way or another-that was pretty much the only thing the Osbornes and Cheryl had in common-so thought it'd be best to keep her distance, wherever them lot were; she wasn't welcome.

"It's her. That flaming Jacqui McQueen, she did this," Frankie screamed, infuriated as she pointed to the tall, dark haired women. "I'm telling you, it was her," she continued, aiming her words at the police officers present, but keeping her eyes fixed on Jacqui.

"Urrr, anyone wanna tell me what the hell's goin' on? It's like a bloody episode of the Bill or somit out here," Rhys joked, expecting whatever it was that had just happened to be a beneficial for himself and Jacqui.

"It's Gilly," Cheryl chocked out, the upset look on her face increasing more by every second. Crowds began to gather around, just people who'd been walking by wanting to see what all the action was about.

"Oh yeah? What's he done now then, raped you too? You know what, yeah? We warned you, Jacqui _told you_ it'd happen. But you, you just wouldn't listen, would you, Chez?" Rhys shouted loudly, purposely trying to tell the whole street what he thought. This only caused more tears to run down Cheryls cheeks.

"No," was all Cheryl was able to spit out in reply. Rhys turned around, remembering how this would affect his wife. He faced the position she was in the last time he'd caught sight of her. She'd gone, disappeared, he looked around but she was nowhere to be seen. He skipped over to where a very agitated and upset looking Frankie was stood taking to one of the police officers.

"Where's Gilly then? Gilly the rapist. Where is he?" Rhys asked snidely, his voice still loud, beginning to sound frustrated. Jack stepped forward, pulling Rhys to the side, knowing his wife was unable to explain to yet another person what had just happened.

"He's gone," Jack said gently, pressing his hand on Rhys' shoulder. Rhys quickly brushed him off. Jack had been a good friend when Jacqui had gone missing, but it had been more than obvious he and Frankie had always been on Gilly's side through all of this.

"Gone to prison? Yeah? Well then, good. That's exactly where he should be. Now you lot should stop cryin' over it, yeah and believe he's a bloody rapist." Jack sighed loudly, trying to gain eye contact with Rhys; whose eyes were drifting around everywhere.

"He's not gone to prison, he's been found dead, son."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Rhys' mouth dropped and he suddenly fell silent as Jack's words began to sink in. Shock washed over him as Jack walked back to his wife, giving Rhys space to process what had happened. He looked back in Cheryl's direction. She was now sat at the bottom of the steps with one of the other officers whom was making sure she was alright. He didn't know what to do, what to think. Part of him wanted to walk over and just give Cheryl a hug; part of him needed that too. That same part of him felt devastated, he'd known Gilly practically his whole life, they'd been through so much together. Yet the other side of him felt that little bit relieved, maybe even a little happy. He deserved it. Or did he? His thoughts began to mix up in his head. He took a deep breath, before beginning to turn around to go and find Jacqui, not knowing what she had and hadn't heard before she'd disappeared off.

"Mr Ashworth," Ethan, the detective-and well-known face around the village-said solemnly straight after arriving at the scene. "We're going to need to speak to you and Jacqui down at the station."

"You think _we _did this?" He asked in disbelief, not seeing that coming.

"Well we _are_ led to believe that you had motive more than most, so-"

Rhys shook his head, his eyes filling up with fluid.

"Not now! I can't do this now!" he stated breathlessly, hitting his hands on the sides of his legs, full of frustration and anger. He quickly walked away before any of them could say anymore.

He rushed back to the flat, unable to gather his thoughts. It wasn't long until he reached home, finding Jacqui sat at the table looking deep in thought. Upon hearing him walk in, she glanced worriedly over to him as he came in the door. Rhys said nothing. He just slumped himself down on the sofa with a loud sigh. He stared in the opposite direction of Jacqui, closing his eyes for several seconds, blinking away any of the tears that remained in his eyes. He didn't know how to tell her, he didn't know the right words to use.

"W-w-what's happened?" Jacqui stuttered whilst getting up and walking her way over to join him on the couch. She stared at him, examining every expression his face made. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, his face had gone pale, his expressions made it look empty, Jacqui hadn't seen him like this before even during some of their worst moments. "Has he raped someone, has he done it again? Is that what it is? I'm gonna flamin' kill 'im," she spat out. She thought about it for several seconds. Rhys wouldn't be acting like this if that's all that had happened. Rhys was always useless at keeping things to himself, he'd always show his feelings, he wouldn't ever hide them, unlike herself. That's why it worried Jacqui so much when he said nothing. "Rhys, tell me what's wrong will ya?" she nagged, hitting his shoulder delicately with the palm of her hand.

"He's dead," Rhys spat out before turning to face his wife. "Gilly's been found dead, like _actually_ dead. Murdered or somit." Jacqui's face quickly became emotionless as Rhys vaguely explained to her what had happened.

"_No_, no, he can't be…Are you sure, Rhys?" she asked, needing to hear it again. Rhys couldn't say it again though; he just nodded his head before taking a deep breath.

"They want to question us," he told Jacqui, blankly.

"Us? What? They think _we_ did this? Oh yeah, the guy rapes me so what, so they think I'm gonna-I'm gonna go and kill him, do they?" Jacqui replied, raising her voice in horror, almost sounding as if she was taking it out on Rhys, that was what she always did, but often without realising it.

"I don't know what the think, Jacqui,' Rhys shouted, frustratedly, jumping up off his seat. Everything felt surreal. He brushed his hands over his head, waving his arms around with anger. "I don't how I'm meant to feel about all of this. I guess, I don't know, at least this is all over now, yeah?" His words were quick and unsure. He didn't have a clue.

"All over? No Rhys, we're probably going to have to go through court all over _again_. This ordeal won't even be far from over, how can you-how can you even think that?" she screamed back at him in a stern voice whilst moving her arms around frantically. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Rhys contemplated running out to get some fresh air for a while, he couldn't take Jacqui arguing with him right now but he knew that wouldn't be the best of ideas. Instead he re-positioned himself back on the sofa, leaving space between himself and Jacqui. She still looked emotionless, she spoke as if she should've been crying, but she wasn't, she was just sat there with no expression on her face, staring downwards.

"Even when he's dead, he's still causing grief and not of the usual kind," Rhys sighed, beginning to calm down a little.

"Is Cheryl alright?" Jacqui asked, a little suddenly, a hint of concern in her voice.

"No. Well, it's not like I stopped to ask or nothin', not as if we're speakin', is it."

"But he was her boyfriend." She paused, just briefly and shook her head. After biting her lip, she continued. "I think you should go and check on her Rhys." She said the words half to get Rhys out of the house knowing she needed space right now to process all of this herself.

"Yeah….and we warned her about getting mixed up with him didn't we," Rhys replied in disagreement. He got up again, kissing Jacqui gently on the head. "I'm gonna call mum, she needs to be told," he continued as he walked out into the kitchen. Jacqui could hear him in the background making the call to Spain. From his tone of voice, she could tell he wasn't as overly-joyed about Gilly dying as he was acting. It was probably fair enough that he was upset, but she couldn't sit there and watch, it was just bringing back so many memories and she had to get away. Checking Rhys wasn't watching, she grabbed Terry and quickly slipped out of the door before Rhys could notice

It wasn't long until he'd finished the conversation with his mum. He ended the call and turned around as he began to speak.

"Right, Josh and mum are coming back as soon as-." By the end of his sentence he'd realised Jacqui was no longer there. "Shit," he murmured to himself, bashing his hand against his head, not wasting another second before he grabbed his coat and headed out to look for her. After what they'd previously been though, when Jacqui left without saying anything, he began to worry uncontrollably about where she was.

He ran down the street, heading for the McQueen's house in search for his wife. He looked upwards at Cheryl's place as he passed. The outside lights allowed him to notice her stood in the door of her the house with the only remaining officer; he presumed he was asking her questions or something. He stared up at her and they immediately gained eye contact with one another. Unable to gain the will to speak to her, he shook his head, put his hands in his pockets and began to walk off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"RHYS…" a teary Cheryl shouted down the steps at him, running quickly down them to stop him from walking off. Rhys stopped, he couldn't just ignore her and walk away; he didn't have it in him to do that. Upon reaching him, Cheryl flung her arms around him, not thinking of anything other than the fact that she needed a friend right now and Rhys was the only one who remotely fit that description, especially since she'd lost Lynsey over the whole Silas thing. After a second's hesitation, Rhys returned the hug, a couple of tears running down his cheeks; Cheryl's tears seemed almost infectious. He bit his lip and pushed her away carefully.

"I have to go, Cheryl. Jacqui and Terreh have gone off somewhere," Rhys quickly said, making it sound obvious that he was in a rush, despite knowing she'd probably just gone to the family home.

"Rhys, no, please don't leave me alone here, not now, please?"

"_Cheryl_, you know what I thought of Gilly," Rhys stated, not sounding convinced with his own words. "I can't help you." Cheryl shook her head at Rhys' soft words; there was a tone of sympathy in his voice. She brushed the tears quickly away from her eyes, re-gaining eye contact with him. She lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes.

"What you thought of him for over twenty years or what you've thought of him for the past nine months because of those silly ideas that Jacqui's been putting into your head?"

"See, this is why I can't stand here and comfort you like this Chez. We're never gonna agree, are we, so let's just leave it at that, yeah?"

"No, we're not," she slurred, pausing briefly before continuing. "But what we can agree on is that we're both grieving, even if you won't admit it, at least part of you must be sad? Or do you really not have any decency at all?" Rhys said nothing in reply to Cheryl's strong-sounding words, he just stood there unknowingly of what to say or do. "Cmon, come in and have a brew, Jacqui will be fine," Cheryl pleaded. Rhys still refrained from movement. Cheryl refused to let this go though. She sighed quietly to herself. "Rhys, I know you want to, it's written all over your face. I need someone to talk to and you and Jacqui can't rely on each other _all_ the time, you need someone else, even if it is me, Gilly's…" Mentioning his name again just got her upset all over again. "I don't even know what word to use-," she continued. After several seconds Rhys nodded gently and followed her up the steps.

"Can't believe this is happenin'," Rhys stated as he sat down on Cheryl's couch with the cup of tea she'd just made him. Cheryl perched herself down next to him. "Doesn't seem real, does it…."

"I know, love." She paused as she thought about his words. See, you do care," Cheryl replied, tilting her head sidewards to face him, a very slight smile appearing on her face for just a second.

"I just wish things had turned out like… different. And by that-I mean-." He sighed before continuing. "I don't even know what I mean." Cheryl led her head down on Rhys' shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to relieve the pain-even though it wasn't physical pain, it still helped. "You know, I went round saying 'oh I'm gonna kill 'im,' and all that shit, but I didn't actually mean it. I've never literally wanted him dead; I just wanted him out of the way. And…now he is, it's like, I dunno-it's mental ent it really." He paused, wiping his eyes quickly and rested his head on top of Cheryl's whilst putting his arm around her. "Anyway, looks like Jaq and I are number one suspects." Cheryl popped her head up, quickly processing Rhys' words. She gave him a bewildered stare, adding up everything that had been going on.

"Rhys….Where was Jacqui when Gilly was murdered? Was she with you?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Cheryl! How could you even ask that? You know what…I'm out of here," he replied, knowing exactly what his so-called friend was getting at. He began to get up, heading for the front door. How could Cheryl start saying these things? He'd just started to open up to her and everything.

"Wait, no, Rhys," she sobbed, hand gesturing for him to stay. He shook his arms and stood still facing towards the door, about to walk out until he heard Cheryl continue to speak. "Last night, was she home? I just-I need to know, Rhys." Upon hearing the whole of her sentence, Rhys turned around slowly to face her, hesitating before he spoke.

"Last night…?"

"Yes last night. Did the cops tell you nothing?"

"No, well, I ran off before they could, dint I."

"It happened last night. Why are you suddenly so edgy, Rhys?" Rhys said nothing. "I'm only gonna ask you this once more. Where was Jacqui?" She strung her final three words out slowly, as if there was a full stop at the end of each word. Rhys began to look worried; as if Cheryl's words had more meaning than he'd first expected. He shrugged his shoulders at her before quickly rushing for the door.

"I can read you like a book, Rhys Ashworth. You need to grow the hell up and realise Jacqui is a piece of work and Gilly didn't even rape her!" Cheryl's words were harsh and snappy; her Irish accent was coming through stronger than ever. She spoke her mind. Tears streamed down her face; she couldn't control them. Reaching for the door handle, Rhys turned his head around to face Cheryl one last time.

"Jacqui isn't like that," he said, quietly-more to himself than Cheryl-as he too began to sob. He quickly threw the door open and slammed it as loud as possible behind him. He ran down the steps, almost tripping over his own feet and leant up against the wall; completely out of breath.

He closed his eyes and stood there in the dark. Cheryl's words replayed over and over in his head, they were almost echoing in his mind. That's when he began to remember the previous night when Jacqui had come home.

_**{Flashback}**_

_Rhys was sat on the sofa half asleep watching the television. It was getting late but he wanted to wait up until Jacqui got back home. It had only been a couple of days since she'd moved back in but so far, things were going well._

"_You're back late. Me and Terreh 'ave been dozing off 'ere, ain't we Terreh," Rhys said, half asleep, giving Terry a pat as Jacqui walked in._

"_Yah, thought I'd spend some time with Mercy, she's still all cut up over Riley."_

_"Really? I thought visiting hours in hospitals were wel' limited these days?" Rhys questioned her, not thinking too much of it._

"_Yeah well, it's different for babies and that ent it," Jacqui replied blankly, refusing to gain eye-contact with her husband. She walked over to Rhys, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and giving Terry a brief stroke. "Ya know what babe, I'm 'ad it me, gonna call it a night," she continued, walking off before Rhys could question her anymore._

Rhys bashed his head with anger; he had to stop thinking anything of this. But what if Cheryl was onto something? No. Even after all that Gilly had put Jacqui through, he knew his wife and he knew she'd never do anything as ridiculous as that; even if she _had _helped her cousin cover up a murder not so long ago. That's when he received a text from the women herself telling him she was spending the night with her family. He contemplated going over there to see her, but by now it was almost pitch black and not far off midnight. Besides, he knew with the state his mind was currently in that he'd say exactly the wrong thing and make everything a hundred times worse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It was early hours of the morning when Ethan called around at the McQueen's in search for Jacqui and/or Rhys. He knocked the door loudly and Theresa-who was dressed only in her dressing gown-quickly ran to answer it.

"Ethan, what are you doing here, it's like-it's like not even 8am," she mumbled, shocked to see him standing there. She quickly brushed her hair with her hand to make sure it looked a little more presentable. Despite dating Will, she'd always had some sort of feelings for Ethan and he knew it.

"Is Jacqui in? I called round hers but there was no answer," he said professionally, for once not spending the opportunity trying to get Theresa on-side. Hearing the noise of his voice, a half asleep Myra soon wondered down the stairs to see what was going on.

"Oi, what the 'ell _you_ doing 'ere? You're not welcome in this house you ent," she mouthed off at him.

"Auntie Myra, he's here to see Jacqui," Theresa said in her usual bubbly voice, sounding just a slight bit worried about her cousin.

"Oh yeah? What d'ya want with 'er?" Myra asked, naively.

"I need to take her down to the station for questioning," Ethan stated, a little surprised that they hadn't seen it coming. "I'm afraid she's one of our main suspects at this stage."

"You think **MY** daughter did _**THIS**_?" Myra asked, sounding even more shocked than when Rhys and Jacqui had been when they'd heard the accusation.

"Ethan, Jacqui wouldn't hurt a fly," Theresa butted in. Hearing her name being mentioned, Jacqui slumped her way down the stairs too, rubbing her eyes before suddenly catching a glimpse of Ethan standing in the doorway.

"Well that's what I thought about you," Ethan whispered harshly back to Theresa, referring to Calvin, the man she'd shot.

"Come on now, you saw how she was after Gilly raped 'er," Myra said, pointing towards Jacqui as she uselessly attempted to get her off the hook.

"Exactly," was all that Ethan said in reply before he turned to face Jacqui herself. "Find Rhys and meet me down at the station would you? The sooner we can get to the bottom of this, the better." Myra quickly shut the door as Ethan got ready to walk off. Jacqui pressed her hand against her head and closed her eyes tightly, tears quickly swelling up inside them. After taking a moment to stare at her daughter, she put her arms around her but Jacqui just stayed still as a rock as she was squeezed tightly.

"It'll be just fine love, you just tell them the truth and it'll all be ok….Now, who's for brecky?" Jacqui sighed loudly and wondered her way over to the sofa, lieing down on it without saying a word. Theresa stumbled over to her and tried to reassure her.

"Auntie Myra's right you know, they'll probably just want to ask you who _you _think did it."

"Yeah, well, y'ould know all about murder cases, wouldn't ya, T'resa?" Jacqui breathed out loudly in Theresa's direction, once again thinking of Calvin. Screwing her nose up, Theresa walked off back upstairs without saying another word.

Meanwhile, Rhys had just got back from meeting Suzanne and Josh at the airport. It would be a bit of a squash having them stay with him but there was no where else, besides he thought their support would be nice right now, especially now that Jacqui had disappeared off.

"Looks different in 'ere," Josh exhaled, looking around at his surroundings as they all walked into the flat. Hearing the phone beeping, Rhys quickly walked over to it whilst looking back to answer his brother.

"Yeah. Well it 'as been over a year now, ent it. Dad's bein' a total dick about d'rent still though. Oh mum, forget to ask, 'ow are the twins?" He'd finally learned to live with the fact that his mum had kids with Darren. Darren _Osborne. _His sister was married to him and his mother had kids with him. Shouldn't have even surprised him though, the Ashworth's had never been your average family.

"Yeah, they're doing fine. Got a friend of mine looking after them, thought they'd be a bit of a distraction if we brought them with us." Rhys smiled into his mum's direction before picking up the phone and listening to the message Jacqui had left for him.

"_Ey Rhys, I dunnah where ya are yeah but we gotta go down and see the cops asap. Ethan came round earlier dint 'e 'n' woke us all up. Just gimme a call or somit as soon as ya get back." _Rhys sighed and looked back towards his mum.

"I've gotta get down tha station ent I, bloody questionin' an' that. You guys gonna be alright 'ere whilst I dash off?"

"You'd think they'd at least give you a little compassion, wouldn't you? I mean you've just lost you best mate," Suzanne moaned, already unimpressed with the way the cops were dealing with this whole mess.

"Ex-best mate actually," Rhys corrected automatically. Josh sighed, throwing Rhys a harsh look. Josh had always looked up to Gilly, often more so than he did Rhys. They'd always been like brothers. Rhys looked back at his mum again. "Oh an' if Lynsey comes in whilst I'm gone, tell 'er who ya are, I ent had chance to let 'er know you're staying 'ere yet." Abruptly after finishing his sentence, Rhys dashed out the door, getting his phone out and quickly sending a text to Jacqui saying; _'on my way now,' _whilst he rushed down to the police station.

Rhys arrived at the station to find Jacqui already sat there, alone, waiting to be questioned.

"Eya, sorry, was meetin' mum and Josh at the airport." Jacqui nodded without speaking. They sat there in the waiting room, in silence, just exchanging a glace with one another now and then. Jacqui sat there fiddling with her earrings. Nervous would be an understatement to explain how she looked and that was something you didn't often see in Jacqui. Rhys, on the other hand just slouched down in his chair like a school kid in detention.

"Rhys Ashworth?" The detective called. She was the same one Jacqui had come in contact with previously when her sister, Mercedes had gone missing. It was easy to say Jacqui had spent a fair amount of time in this building during her time in Hollyoaks and it seemed it was only about to increase. Rhys raised a hand and got up, following her into the interview room. As he walked into the room, he sighed loudly noticing Ethan sat in one of the chairs. Were these two their only staff or something?

"So Mr Ashworth. Could you tell us what your relationship with Mr Gilbert Roach was?" The female detective asked, jumping straight into it. Rhys had to restrain himself from laughing sarcastically; he'd always used to laugh when people called him by his full name.

"Dint really 'ave a 'relationship' with 'im."

"Really? Because I've heard the two of you were best friends," the female detective questioned.

"Well if ya know that, then why'd ya ask me?" Rhys replied, already beginning to get aggravated. They should've known all of this after the whole trial business, they probably just wanted him to re-phrase it all out loud, but right now that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Please try and remain calm and answer the questions," the detective said, solemnly.

"Gilly and I used to be best mates, yeah-"

"Until Jacqui accused him of rape. Am I right?"

"Yes!" Rhys breathed out, unwillingly. "Why are ya askin' me this stuff? I told ya the last time we were in court over 'im." The detectives ignored his sentence and professionally continued with the questioning.

"And how did it make you feel when he returned back here last month?"

"Angry, of course. But he **raped **my wife, We were fine, we were getting' on with our lives and that, an' then suddenly…he's back. Of course I was angry, what tha hell d'ya expect, ay? For me to be jumpin' for joy?"

"Let's just cut to the chase shall we? Where were you 8pm, Sunday night?" Ethan butted in, sighing half way through his sentence.

"I was at home weren't I," Rhys simply stated.

"What, all night?"

"You're makin' me sound like a right borin' git now. Yes, all night."

"And can anyone back this up?" Ethan asked with a yawn, sounding as if he was bored to death of his job.

"Lynsey." He tried to keep his sentences short and snappy. He didn't want to say anymore than he needed to if he could help it, not that he really had anything to hide.

"Lynsey Nolan?" The other detective asked.

"Yeah, that's right. But, I hear ya have a habit of not believing her, is that right?" Rhys answered back, already fed up of their questions. The two detectives shared a glance at each other before looking back at Rhys.

"In that case, we'll need to get Lynsey in to confirm this. And what about Jacqui, was she home with you?"

"No," he replied reluctantly, looking downwards to avoid eye-contact with them. He had to be honest, but didn't want to put his foot in it and get his wife into any trouble. "Well, some of the night."

"And what about the rest of the night? Did she tell you where she was?"

"I dunnah. With 'er sister or somit," Rhys spat out, believing Jacqui had been telling him the truth when she'd told him that.

"Ok, thankyou. I think that will be all…for now, although we will need you to make a statement."

"For now? You can't seriously tell me ya think I killed me best mate?" Rhys cried, beginning to get overwhelmed by the pressure they'd been putting him under.

"You said you were no longer friends with the victim," the female detective said, in a slightly confused voice. Ethan gestured for them to finish the interview, knowing it was obvious Rhys couldn't take anymore of this.

"Alright then, you're free to go Mr Ashworth."

Rhys walked rapidly out of the room, heading in the direction of the waiting room. When he got there he found his mum stood there, with Jacqui still in her original position looking as if she hadn't even moved an inch. He walked straight up to Suzanne, an upset look on his face, he was glad to see her but there was no need for her to've followed him down there. She immediately hugged him tightly but it wasn't long until Rhys pushed her off of him. He turned around, wiping his face and looked at Jacqui.

"I'll wait 'ere for ya, Jaq," Rhys told her as she got out of her seat after having her name called.

"Nah, don't be silly babe, I'll be fine, you go," Jacqui replied, forcing a smile onto her face so that Rhys would believe she was alright.

"Wel' come back home after then, yeah?" Jacqui nodded in response as she herself prepared to be questioned.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: Sorry I haven't updated for a while! Also, the bad spelling's on purpose, to get their accents across-incase you wondered, haha. <strong>

**I'm not going to write about Jacqui getting questioned because it'll get a little repetitive...but it will be mentioned in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"I'm sorry mum," Rhys sobbed. He'd hit an all time low. He was an expert at getting himself into stupid situations, whether it was falling in love with his step-sister or spiking his brother's drink; both things that could've potentially ended with him locked up if it wasn't for Gilly and his family being so forgiving. But this time he'd done nothing wrong, yet it still felt as if he was getting the blame. The grief of Gilly's passing at the same time as the remaining anger he felt for him and having a broken Jacqui to _try_ and look after at the same time, it was all getting too much.

"Don't be silly," Suzanne reassured him. "None of this is your fault. You need to remember that, ok?"

"What if it _is _his fault?" Josh asked, suddenly appearing, stood in the doorway having just walked out of one of the rooms.

"You what?" Rhys replied, turning his nose up at his brother.

"What if all this 'you raped my wife' crap's the cause for all of this? Who'd have anything against him otherwise? No one could ever hate Gilly, and you made a ridiculous choice choosing a McQueen over him because deep down you know that he'd never have it in him to rape _anybody_. I know you Rhys, but I've no idea what you're playing at right now," Josh spat out painfully. His words came out slowly, showing real emotion in his voice. You could tell he knew what he was saying; from his point of view anyway. He was fed up of his brother always screwing up like this, he was always doing it and it'd _always _ruin other people's lives and not his own. It had even almost ended Josh up in jail shortly after he'd moved away, that hadn't been easy to forgive him for.

"Don't suddenly come back 'ere and tell me all this, yeah? You haven't seen how Jacqui's been, right. Josh, you-you just don't 'ave a clue. We were gonna leave an' go all the bliming way to Cornwall 'cause of 'im. We even started to get things moving quicker, 'cause we couldn't even stand bein' around 'ere for another six months. I need support 'ere, yeah? I can't do all this on me own but you're-you're just makin' it a load worse, Josh." Josh looked furious as Rhys spoke; he'd got along with Michaela McQueen back in the day, but her elder sisters he could never warm to.

"Boys! Just calm down, alright? I feel like I'm parenting a couple of school kids all over again. Just stop it ok, arguing isn't going to bring Gilly back," Suzanne said softly. At that moment, an emotional Josh was quick to escape the room, giving his brother an appalled stare as he did so.

Not so long after Josh had left, Jacqui flew into the room with an angry look on her face-she and Josh must've passed each other on their journeys. Suzanne walked into the kitchen to give the two of them some space to talk; although shout would probably be a more fitting word.

"Do you have _any_ idea what you've done, Rhys?" Jacqui growled, raising her voice a little more with every word she spoke. She walked closer to him, her eyes angrily fixated on his. Rhys just looked confused; he had no idea what Jacqui was talking about. "Why'd you tell them? Why would you tell them I was with Mercedes that night?" Jacqui continued, spreading her words out slowly so that they were well emphasized.

"Urrr…Because you were?"

"No Rhys! No. I wasn't at all. You know, you can be _so _stupid some times. There was me telling the cops one thing and you another. Great. Thanks Rhys, nice one."

"So now you're yellin' at me 'cos I believed you? Because _I _told the truth and you didn't? Why am I getting' the blame from bloody everyone around 'ere?"

"I was trying to find Gilly wasn't I! That is what I was doin' that night. I 'ad no alibi though, so I 'ad to lie to the cops." Upon hearing Jacqui's loud words, Suzanne walked over to them with a shocked expression on her face.

"Urm, **excuse **_**me**_, you _lied_ to the **police**?" She asked in disbelief.

"I 'ad to dint I. 'N' I dint use the Mercedes story either. You were right weren't you, about visiting times 'n' that," Jacqui panicked, looking towards Suzanne and then back at Rhys again.

"You know what, yeah? This is gettin' way too complicated now," Rhys sighed, shaking his head, he'd had enough.

"Wel' you get your little brain around this; I'm number 1 suspect and it's all th-thanks to you so thanks for the love," Jacqui mouthed off at Rhys, hand gesturing as she spoke. She didn't mean to be so harsh to him, she just needed someone to blame and there was no one else. With tears rolling rapidly down her cheeks, she disappeared out of the door. Suzanne cross her arms and stood there staring at Rhys, still looking horrified.

"Why do you let her treat you like that, ay?"

"She don't mean it," he replied, biting down on his lip. "She's just-I dunno-just tryin' to push me away, ent she. Like she always does, guess I should be used to it by now.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: Bit of a short chapter, sorry! Makes up for the last one being longer though. ;) I sware writing this is messing with my mind, I keep accidently thinking Gilly's actually dead in Hollyoaks, hahaa. Thanks so much GirlWednesday for your reviews, very much appreciated! I already have the next chapter written, just need to edit it a little before posting it. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Josh had stormed off in a strop with his brother, something that had always seemed to happen far too frequently. He was older now though, he knew facing up to it and supporting Rhys' would've been the mature thing to do. But he thought the world of Gilly, he had to stick by what _he _thought, whether his brother was at breaking point or not. It was fair to say that he was incredibly upset about Gilly, but what made it worse was the way Rhys had been acting. He couldn't get his head around how Rhys could be so low, how he could chose some girl over his best mate. It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before, but this was different, this time Gilly was being made out to be someone he wasn't, someone he'd _never_ be. He couldn't help but blame Rhys. After everything they'd all been through together, he just didn't think his brother's reactions were right.

Back at the flat, Rhys had been trying to gather his thoughts but wasn't being so successful with that. He knew that even attempting to speak to Jacqui right now would just be a stupid idea, so he began to think about one of the other many problems he seemed to have; his brother.

"Will Josh ever get over this? Why'd 'e even come 'ere anyway?"

"He's just upset, he'll calm down, in time," Suzanne replied in a soothing voice. Throughout everything Rhys had ever done, Suzanne was always the one in the family who'd stand by him. Part of her felt like she owed Rhys something, especially after bringing up to think his uncle was his dad and his dad was his uncle. What a mess that was.

"I'm gonna go and find 'im," Rhys breathed out after a brief silence.

"I don't think that's a good idea, love. You're just going to have to give him time."

"No. I _**need **_him to understand. I just can't deal with 'im bein' all moody like this right now. I've gotta sort this out," Rhys replied quickly, shaking his head as he spoke.

He knew exactly where his brother would be. Where he'd often run away to when they'd had a fight or when things for difficult for him. Well, there were two places; by the fountains _or _sat in the park. The park seemed like the more likely option since the current sixth formers often seemed to take over the area by the fountain these days. As soon as the park was in eyes sight he spotted his brother. He was sat on one of the swings looking as if he was away with the fairies. Rhys paused, staring at him from that distance; it made him remember times before when they'd all lived in Hollyoaks together, one big happy family. Neville, Suzanne, himself, Hannah, Josh... and Gilly.

Nothing had been perfect for years, but he'd never quite realised how much he really had back then, even when times did get hard. He slowly made his way up to Josh, his hands resting in his back pockets and a lively and hopeful look on his face. He sat down on the swing next to Josh, giving him a quick nod but saying nothing.

"Why have you followed me here?" Josh questioned, wanting to be alone, or at least not with Rhys.

"I-I need you to understand. You're me little brother aren't ya, we always sort things out," Rhys said with a sigh, staring straight ahead of himself. "Anyway, I dint follow ya did I, I knew you'd be 'ere."

"Why do you never learn, Rhys? You just keep messing up, over and over-"

"Not this time," Rhys butted in, shaking his head vigorously. "I don't see why the 'ell I should be the one getting the blame 'ere, not this time."

"You almost always say that. 'Oh, so maybe I messed up but it weren't all my fault and I'd do it all over again anyway,'" Josh murmured, stringing words together that he'd remembered Rhys say over the years. "For all you know, this _**could **_be all your fault. All your fault for not believin' your best mate."

"Gilly was lying," Rhys exhaled. He wanted to get along with his brother, but he too wasn't going to change his beliefs just because Josh thought Gilly was a saint or something. "I don't expect ya to understand then, yeah, but I have reason don't I. Ya think I enjoy hatin'me oldest mate? Course I don't."

"You keep doing this and you don't realise it! Beth would be alive if it wasn't for you. You almost killed India. And now Gilly? I really thought you would'a changed by now. You're twenty-five, but you're not acting it, even Jacqui's fed up with you," Josh relied, angrily, ignoring Rhys' previous statement. Everything that he'd thought of in his head just sort-of flew out.

"What the 'ell, Josh. You can't compare all that to now. That's all in the past ent it."

"So let's say Gilly raped Jacqui Mcqueen by accident, shall we? He didn't realise he did it. Yeah? Now, that's in the past. It happened. Why could you have not just moved on from that too?"

"'Cos it's not-" Rhys tried to interrupt, but Josh just kept on speaking.

"No, Rhys. You said to Gilly you'd never forget what he'd done for you. You'd probably not even be alive now without him, you'd 'ave drowned or done something else ridiculous and if he really was this monster ya make 'im out to be then you'd be locked up, because he wouldn't have been able to forgive you. You really need to get your priorities straight, because they've _always _been in the wrong order."

"IT'S NOT OVER. Even when he was alive, it weren't over!" Rhys shouted in an outburst of anger. "Don't ya think I remember all that stuff yeah? But I've 'ad to see Jacqui get through this everyday for months. It's torn 'er apart. It's torn ME apart. You 'ave literally no idea what he's put us through! ….I love 'er." The brothers kept quiet for a while, they both looked a mess. Passers by would just stare at them as they walked by; the park was hardly the ideal place for an argument, especially one that was this complex. Josh wasn't at all surprised by the way Rhys was acting, he really would do this every time. Despite this though, Josh _was _taken back a little by Rhys' sudden outburst of emotion, but he just still couldn't understand it.

"You know what? We need Hannah here. She always knew how to sort us out," Josh said in a much calmer voice, breaking the long silence. Rhys half-smiled at him and nodded, not quite knowing what to say. At that moment Rhys noticed Jacqui walking in their direction with Terry. They both watched as she gradually got nearer; she hadn't noticed them sitting there. "There she is, your wife. Go and speak to her then, tell her how your brother's sticking up for bad ol' Gilly."

"Josh, don't," Rhys mumbled, sternly.

"Is it me, or does she look happy with herself? Perhaps she's the murderer. Wouldn't put it past a McQueen."

"Will _**you **_stop it?" Rhys paused as he stared at his wife from afar. "Wish I could read 'er mind sometimes. 'N' before ya sat anythin', no, not to see if she killed 'im 'cause she didn't. I know my wife, yeah. I'm just…worried about 'er." He looked at his brother again, it was obvious he wasn't about to back down. "Ya know what, I give up tryin' to make ya see the unseeable. I'd get more compassion from a bloody brick wall."

"Was thinking the same myself," Josh shouted after Rhys as he got up and walked rapidly away. It felt as if they couldn't have more different opinions right now, they really were never going to agree.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: Sorry I've started writing this rubbish at the end of each chapter, but I felt the need to say the next chapter's one of my favourite chapters so far. <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The next morning arrived and Rhys flung himself up out of bed looking a complete mess. He stumbled into the kitchen finding Lynsey already in there making her breakfast before work; she'd just got her job back at the hospital. Josh was still asleep on the couch; he'd slept there after refusing to share a room with Rhys after their difference in opinion.

"Morning," he greeted Lynsey, quietly so that they wouldn't wake Josh up. Being even more in his 'bad books' wasn't on his schedule.

"Oh, hey Rhys," she replied, turning around to face him as she heard his voice; her hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

"Listen, I'm sorry if you get dragged into all this, Lyns-" Rhys began to apologise; he'd not seen her much since the whole thing had begun.

"It's fine, Rhys," Lynsey reassured him with a warm smile before he could finish his sentence. "I told Ethan you were here that night."

"Thanks Lynsey. Dunno what I'd 'ave done if ya weren't 'ere. They seemed dead set on wanting to drag me down ya know."

"Yeah well, police these days," she said with a laugh, soon continuing. "How's Jacqui? Have you spoken to her?" Lynsey asked in her pretty, Irish accent. She knew how Jacqui had reacted throughout all of this Gilly stuff and wanted to make sure she was alright. She'd dated Gilly herself around the time of the rape and had refused to go near him ever since. She almost fully believed Jacqui. Upon hearing her words, Rhys immediately shrugged his shoulders.

"She's bein' weird again. Ya know, like before."

"You should speak to her; it worked last time didn't it. But anyway, I need to get to work. Do you need me to get anything whilst I'm out?" Rhys shook his head in reply to Lynsey's question whilst his head tried to decide whether he should contact Jacqui or not. Suzanne walked into the kitchen just as Lynsey left and immediately read Rhys' thoughts just from his facial expressions.

"Go and talk to her. If you lose her now, all of this would have been for nothing," Suzanne pushed, in a motherly tone. By 'all of this' she meant all of the months Rhys and Jacqui had been having all these problems, all the times Rhys had stood by his wife to try and help her and all the times they'd managed to work things out again-even in the most difficult times.

After over an hour of debating with himself, Rhys finally decided to pop over to the McQueen's to try and apologise to Jacqui; even though it was still hard to see what he'd done wrong.

He froze as he reached their front door and shook a little; an angry Jacqui was a pretty scary thing, especially for someone like Rhys who couldn't understand why she acted the way she did. After finally gaining the courage to knock the door, he waited there, looking around as if he was lost or something. Myra soon answered it, she looked relieved to see him.

"'Eya, is Jacqui about at all?" He asked her, nervously.

"Ah, yeah, she's just on d'sofa. Come in, we'll get tha kettle on for ya," Myra replied, before walking over to the kitchen mumbling to him as she walked. "Bloody freezin' outside, ent it." Rhys walked hesitantly in, his hands tightly stuffed in his pockets. He was shivering slightly; like Myra had said, it was beginning to get cold outside. Plus, he was nervous. He didn't have a clue what he was going to say and she was his wife, that should never be the case in a married couple's relationship…but other than loving each other, what similarities did they have to your normal married couple?

"Oi, what's 'e doing 'ere, ay?" Jacqui screeched, tilting her head in his direction, sighing noticeably as she heard Rhys' voice. She'd just been sat there on the sofa doing nothing, something else that wasn't at all like Jacqui.

"He's 'ere to see you, ain't he. And none of that mouth please, 'e's done nout wrong," Myra stated, getting fed up herself of Jacqui's way of dealing with this.

"We need to talk, Jaq," Rhys whimpered as he walked closer to her. "I'm sorry, yeah…I dint mean to get ya into trouble, you know that." Jacqui didn't say anything in reply, she just stared at him hopelessly, hoping he'd give up and leave. Rhys' way of dealing with things was difficult for her because whilst she wanted to bottle it all up and keep what she felt to herself, Rhys was the complete opposite. "Will you just talk to me, Jacqui!" He shouted, as usual not knowing how to get through to her.

"Brew's on table," Myra called out as she headed for the staircase. Jacqui's gaze followed her and they briefly caught eye-contact with one another.

"Talk to 'im, else one of these days you're gonna push that boy away for good," Myra whispered, sharply to her daughter as she walked past, before disappearing up the stairs. Rhys walked over and sat down in the armchair, leaning over himself with his head in his hands.

"I can't do this on my own, Jacqui. Please, I'm beggin' ya, just talk to me. What can I do?" His words were calmer this time, but desperate.

"Go home," Jacqui insisted, coldly, turning her face away from him. Rhys shook his head in frustration.

"No, Jacq! I ent goin' anywhere. I'm staying right 'ere 'till you talk ."

With Myra's words going round and round in her head and Rhys becoming too stubborn to move, Jacqui pulled her legs off of the couch and sat facing him, still without making a sound. Her face was pale and make-up-less, her eyes red and puffy and her hair all over the place, yet she still looked beautiful in Rhys' eyes. He'd have given anything to've been able to re-do the last year over. Perhaps it was all his fault, in a way. Everything had spiralled out of control ever since he'd slept with Cheryl-well, every since Jacqui had found out about it. How could things just keep on happening all because of that? It was like playing a game of dominoes, except this was no game, it was only too real. He didn't know whether to tell at Jacqui, tell her how he really felt about the way she'd always acted throughout all of the situations and how it was impossible to deal with. He wasn't always great at staying calm, but he had to for both their sakes, he couldn't lose the one person he loved, he just couldn't let that happen. If he did, he'd have nothing left.

"I love ya…'N' we can get through this, I know we can Jacq, 'cos we always do, we always get through it and come out the other side, stronger than we've ever been. I've neva' felt like this about no one, yeah and I ain't gonna give up on ya like this. You know what I was like before I fell in love with ya. What was it ya called me? A-a-urm-a 'student dick 'ead' weren't it?" Jacqui laughed a little at Rhys' words, but in less than a second the frightened, depressed-looking facial expression was soon to return to her face. "Well look how you've changed me, Jacq," Rhys continued, doing everything to convince her. "We're so much better together than apart." He stared deep into his wife's eyes as she spoke before looking downwards again as he came to the end of his sentence. Jacqui pressed her lips firmly together, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hold me…,Rhys," she breathed out. Her voice was shaking ever so slightly. Rhys' head suddenly popped up when he heard her words, he was a little taken back by them, it was an unexpected reaction. Despite this, it didn't take him a single second to jump over to his wife. Sitting next to her, he put his arms tightly around her body and kissed her head. "I'm s-sorry. I panicked dint I and I dint know what to do, Rhys," she sobbed, pushing her head comfortably onto Rhys' shoulder, looking downwards so that he couldn't see the stains her tears were making on her face. Noticing her refusing to look at him, he put his finger under her chin and pulled her face up before moving his arms and resting them on her shoulders, making sure he had total eye-contact with her. The tips of their noses touched each others' and the slightest smile curved upwards onto Rhys' lips.

"I'm sorry too." He said those words more because he regretted even thinking for a second that Jacqui would possibly have done something like this, rather than because of his mistake at the police station. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for ya Jacqui McQueen, ya know that, don't you?" said Rhys, telling her again-just in case she really didn't realise. Jacqui soon nodded, her nose brushing against Rhys' as she did so. She tried to force a smile onto her face, but failed. In a slow motion, Rhys moved his left had upwards to hold Jacqui's head and reached his lips closer to Jacqui's, pressing them against gently together, just quickly; he was half expecting Jacqui to pull away before he did, but much to his relief she didn't. With his other hand he took her, intertwining their fingers together romantically. They stayed there for ages, just in each other's company. Had they finally overcome a hurdle?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Josh had just been out catching up with Amy and Michaela for the first time since arriving back and had been expecting Rhys to be back home by the time he'd got in. Suzanne was sat on the couch reading the paper and looked round as she heard the door creek open.

"Where's Rhys?" He asked as soon as he got in the door, partly relieved that he didn't appear to be in sight. Hanging out with his old friends had cheered him up a lot, he'd never realised quite how much he'd been missing them.

"Still with Jacqui, I presume. He hasn't rushed back so that must be a good sign."

"Think I'd prefer it if she kept away from him," Josh admitted with a sigh.

"Just leave him be, he loves her." She paused for a second. "So how are Amy and Michaela then?"

"Yeah, they're good. Found out Ste's gay, who'd have thought it? One of Amy's boyfriends once thought he and I were a couple, bit worrying now I look back at it," Josh replied light-heartedly with a short laugh at the end of his sentence.

"Oh yeah, I can see that actually. Surprised he only just realised. Guess all that fighting with him over Amy was for nothing," she said as Josh sat down next to her on the sofa. He was silent for a while before he turned to her to speak again.

"You know Ruby, Duncan's sister? She came wondering up to me wanting to know all of this stuff about Gilly. It was the weirdest thing."

"Well what kind of stuff?" Suzanne asked, intrigued.

"What _I_ thought of him, what Rhys thought of him, if the police had any leads on the case. She went on about how sharing a house with him was _scary_, because she was scared he was gonna suddenly jump out and rape her or something. She was _well_ over-dramatic. She went on for ages just talking about it, she talks a bloody lot, worse than Dunc she was."

"If she's anything like Duncan then it does not surprise me," Suzanne replied with a smile.

"Yeah, true that. She was probably just being unbelievably nosy." Even if Suzanne hadn't thought anything of it, Josh found it a little suspicious. Mainly because of the tone she was speaking in and her body language, something wasn't right. But then, she did live with the guy for a while.

*****  
>Rhys had spent hours with Jacqui. Just spending time sat there with her, cuddling up to her, talking. They hadn't spoken much about Gilly or any of the events currently surrounding them but it was a start and it had put a brief smile on Rhys' face. On his walk home, Darren caught his eye as he walked past 'Mobs' and called him over.<p>

"Oi, Rhys! Heard your mum and bro are back in the village. They brought the twins?" Darren asked in his usual cheeky voice. It seemed Gilly's death hadn't affected him in the slightest.

"Nah she ent mate," Rhys replied as he jumped over and stood by the counter, crossing his arms. "Thought they'd be a bit of a distraction."

"Well I coulda looked after them, couldn't I?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all Frankie and Jack want right now."

"Would be a good distraction, w'unt it," Darren laughed. He was being so joyful, yet the man who's wife was his sister, the man who recently lived in his house had just been murdered. For a short while, hearing Darren made Rhys realise how he must've sounded to the others.

"D'ya not care about what 'appened to Gilly then or somit?" Rhys asked, a hard edge to his words.

"P'raps he 'ad it comin' ay? Scared Nancy shitless living in that house with him," he admitted with a quick shrug of the shoulders.

"He was so good to Steph. He married her **knowing **she was gonna die. Who else could do that, ay?" Rhys replied, a little dreamily, defending Gilly for the first time in months. He began thinking about what happened during that time, Gilly had certainly been a bigger man than he could ever be. Although a year ago he'd never have imagined that he'd be able to be there for someone like he had been for Jacqui.

"Make your mind up princess. Thought ya 'ated the guy," Darren said back.

"Yeah, well I do, don't I," Rhys quickly replied without thinking about it. "Dint really deserve death though, did 'e?" He needed an answer to his question, he still couldn't work out what it was. At that moment, Cheryl flew clumsily up to them, interrupting their conversation.

"Cheryl!" Darren beamed. "Want a smoothy? I'll give ya a two for one offer if ya both want one. 3 quid? Great deal, ay?" Cheryl flashed a serious look at him, surprised by his up-beat attitude.

"Is he for real?" She asked, turning to Rhys whilst gesturing to Darren. Rhys nodded hesitantly without saying anything. He hadn't seen Cheryl since he'd run out on her. He didn't want anymore ideas put into his head that made him think Jacqui was some sort of murdering psycho.

"I'll take that as a no then…" Darren replied, slurring his words. Cheryl turned back to look at him, giving him another harsh stare. Darren made a pretend scared-looking face before cracking up laughing.

"Do you not give a damn about poor Gilly?" Cheryl asked him, a little angrily but trying to stay calm.

"I've already 'ad that convo with 'im Chez. Answer's no." Rhys butted in before Darren had chance to answer.

"Imagine what Steph would have to say to that," Cheryl mouthed off into Darren's direction; she knew how much he loved his step-sister. Rhys' words and tone of voice processed in her head and she stared at him. "You have?" She asked him all of a sudden as she pulled him over to a table away from Darren. She was shocked by the way Rhys said the words; it was as if he was disagreeing with Darren.

"Cheryl, no," Rhys rejected uselessly as she pulled him along. She made him sit down opposite her and he could barely fight off someone like Cheryl. "I don't want ya putting stupid ideas into me head again, alright?" He snapped, moving his arms around as he spoke.

"I'm sorry love-about before. I was in shock. I know Jacqui wouldn't do such a thing-at least I think I do-"

"She wouldn't," Rhys stated, clearly.

"I believe you. I believe her. But I think you're lying to yourself. You're allowed to miss him."

"Maybe he dint deserve to die. But I still 'ate him. How can I 'ate someone I miss, ay? God, this is _so _messed up. This blimin' murdering, idiot needs to be found!"

"How's Jacqui doing? Have you heard anything else? They won't tell me nothing, stupid officers."

"Oh, don't act like ya care about 'er."

"But I do care-if it's affecting you, we're all strugglin' through," Cheryl replied with a sympathetic tone to her voice. She reached out her hand and took Rhys'. Rhys sighed loudly.

"Sorry, Chez. Keep forgettin' 'ow hard this must be for you." He took a deep breath, remembering the look he saw on his wife's face just hours ago. "Was just on me way back from Jaq's now. She's scared shitless, ent she. Cops probably still think it's 'er. Jack and Frankie obviously think the same."

"What about you, how are you?"

"Well, we're ok, but if this carried on I can't see it lastin'"

"I mean _you_, Rhys. Not you _and _her. Just you," Cheryl rephrased. "You knew him a long time, don't forget that."

"That's just it though, it ain't just me. I can't think what I would think if she weren't involved. And everyone's putting different things in me 'ead and it's just like-it's just

too much for me to get me 'ead round ent it."

"Well then, you're right, we need to find this person. Quickly."

Rhys arrived back at the flat, throwing his coat down as he walked in. He noticed him mum and Josh sat on the table in the kitchen, deep in conversation. The both immediately stopped talking as they noticed him walk in.

"Hey love, how'd it go? Did you manage to sort things out with Jacqui? Suzanne asked in a hopeful voice as Rhys walked nearer to them.

"Yeah. For now." He leaned himself against the table and crossed his arms. Josh kept quiet. Rhys looked around at him, giving him an apologetic look.

"Josh, I'm sorry, yeah. Ya were right weren't ya, as always. I love Jacqui, but Gilly shu'nt be dead."

"Of course he shouldn't. He'd done nothing wrong," Josh muttered back. He wanted more than that. As far as Josh was concerned there were only two sides. Gilly's side and Jacqui's side, and he wasn't about to let that go.

"You are y-you're impossible, Josh!" Rhys exhaled, stuttering ever so slightly before storming off into his room.

*****  
>Meanwhile, Carmel and Jacqui were walking along the park. The only time Jacqui would set foot outside of the house was when she had to walk Terry. He was the one thing she had that would never let her down and therefore she was beginning to rely on him. When there was no one else around, she'd talk to him, just as if she was a person. It was much easier than if he was a person though, he was almost like her own personal counsellor, just one that couldn't talk back. Unless of course you could call barking, talking. Whenever she'd go for a walk she'd often have a few people stare at her, mainly people she vaguely knew, the students of Hollyoaks in particular. It wasn't like one of those ridiculous scenarios on a soap opera where the whole village would just magically appear all at the same time and stand there staring. If that was the case, she'd never have even thought about stepping outside.<p>

"I always love this time of year. All the pretty lights, the winter's breeze. So joyful and happy," Carmel beamed with a massive smile on her face.

"Yeah…so joyful and so very happy," Jacqui replied sarcastically, giving Carmel a fake smile.

"Oh, sorry Jaq. What I meant was-oh, well, it doesn't matter." Jacqui shook her head at Carmel acting like-well, typical Carmel-as she continued to walk side-by-side with her, saying nothing. Suddenly there was a rattling noise coming from one of the bushes besides them. Carmel immediately heard it and turned around, with Jacqui coming to a halt and looking at her as if she was mental.

"Did you hear that?" Carmel whispered.

"It was probably just a bird or sumit weren't it. C'mon Carm, need ta get Terreh 'ome for 'is dinner dunt I. He dunt like it when I give it 'im too late," Jacqui nagged. Carmel soon forgot about the noise and began to walk back off with Jacqui. Carmel had been right to want to investigate. Shortly after they'd walked away, two eyes became visible peeping through the gaps in one of the bushes. Someone had been following them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Rhys and Josh had finally been managing to put their differences aside for the evening. It was difficult to know what they should've been doing in this situation, so they'd just spend hours sat around doing next-to-nothing.

"So what's happening about the funeral?" Josh asked, suddenly realising no one had mentioned it yet. It had been almost a week since the event had taken place now and so much had happened since that they hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about it.

"Ya should talk ta Jack 'n' Frankie. Doubt they'd want us gettin' involved," Rhys answered him, scrunching his nose up at the thought of them.

"But that's not right. We knew him better than they did." He looked at Rhys briefly and corrected his words. "Well, I did." Despite thinking this, Josh had been pleased when he'd found out that at least Jack and Frankie hadn't believed Gilly was a rapist. It seemed they were the only ones who'd been thinking clearly.

"Josh is right. We were his family," Suzanne agreed, walking over to them. After a second of thought Josh got up off the couch and headed for the door.

"Oi, where'd ya think you're rushing off ta?" Rhys asked.

"To the Osbornes, where d'ya think?"

"Hand on, let me come with ya," Rhys insisted, quickly throwing himself up off the couch and following Josh. He had no time to reject, he just sighed loudly knowing Rhys going too was a bad idea.

Rhys and Josh were greeted at the door by a surprised-looking Ruby. The last people she'd expected to see at the door were the Ashworths.

"Hey Josh," she beamed, twirling her hair around her finger, ignoring Rhys. The house was mad. There was the noise of the TV coming from the lounge, loud music coming from upstairs, Nancy squealing as she and Darren ran up the stairs. There were just people wondering everywhere as if it was some kind of drop-in centre.

"Havin' a party or somethin'?" Josh asked as he poked his head in the door.

"Oh no, we just have a packed full house."

"No kiddin'. How many people live here?" Josh asked in disbelief, getting distracted from the reason he and Rhys were actually there for.

"Well there's me… obviously. Frankie, Jack, Darren, Nancy, Charlie, Esther, Tom, Barry the dog and now the band too," she replied quickly without taking any breaths in her sentence.

"Weird t'think we used to live 'ere, 'ent it, Josh," Rhys said with a smile as he nudged Josh's shoulder.

"Yeah. Us and Gilly," Josh replied, solemnly, keeping a straight face and refusing to look at his brother. At this point Ruby was beginning to feel the tension between the brothers and awkwardly moved out of the way to let them in. Josh walked in first, with Rhys trailing just steps behind him. As they walked into the doorway of the front room they saw Jack, Frankie and Tom sat on the sofa with their eyes fixated on the television. Because it was almost a year since Steph's death and because of the recent tragedy with Gilly, they'd put the video on that Steph had made them all before she'd died. It had just reached the part she'd done for Gilly. He'd been the only one who'd seen the whole of it before now. Having not seen it themselves, Josh and Rhys stood there silently, as they watched it too. _'I love you Gilly, always have, always will.' _As it reached the end of the video a tear ran down Josh's face. Rhys noticed and put his hand on his brother's shoulder, but Josh immediately brushed it off. Seeing this video just made it even more evident how much Gilly was loved and how he didn't deserve any of this. Josh cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Jack…Frankie…Tom," he said. They all turned round in turn, seeing the two boys stood there.

"What is _he _doing in my house?" Frankie asked sternly, referring to Rhys. Frustrated but unsurprised by Frankie's reaction, Rhys shook his head and wondered into the kitchen, giving his brother the ability to talk to them without the distraction of him being there.

"Steph loved him. And he loved her..so much. She was all he'd ever talk about, even before they were even together," Josh thought out-loud, smiling to himself but looking downwards at the ground as he remembered these memories. All of a sudden, he looked back upwards again. After a quick nudge from Jack, Tom escaped to the kitchen too. "Mum and I came back once we'd heard the news. Still can't get my head round it. But, anyway, I was wondering about funeral plans?"

"We haven't decided on them yet. Didn't know if it was our place," Jack replied, in a serious yet friendly voice.

"You lot daren't show your faces though," Frankie snapped immediately after Jack had said his final word. Jack put his arm around her, trying to calm her down. She sighed and re-corrected herself. "Rhys anyway. How dare he take a McQueen's side through all of this?"

"We were-" Josh took a deep breath and walked a few steps closer to them. "We were his family. Us…And you guys. And Rhys will realise he's made a mistake, just give him time."

Back in the kitchen Rhys was just staring around, taking note of what had changed since it was his home. It still looked the same, not much had changed at all. They'd had a lot of memories in that house, a lot of bad ones, it brought them all back. Everything that went on between him and Sarah; who was also now dead, when he'd found out his dad was his uncle and his uncle was his dad, everything with Beth, Hannah's eating disorder. And so much had gone on with Josh as well during that time. There were _so_ many bad memories. But they got through it all, all of it, as a family. Noticing Rhys' gazing eyes, Tom walked closely up to him, looking up and watching his every move.

"I know you miss him," Tom said in his cute little voice.

"How'd ya know that then, Tom?" Rhys asked, with a sigh.

"Because he loved you and you loved him, like best friends should. He was my best friend too, so I know how it words. I know what you've done for him. You were amazing when Steph died, he told me that, he did. Plus I saw it with me _own _eyes, dint I. His wedding, Steph's funeral, the lot. You were _always_ there. I remember it, all of it."

"Will you stop it, Tom?" Rhys said frustratedly as his eyes started to swell up with fluid and his voice began to crack. He knew the boy was onto something and more annoyingly, he knew he was right. He always was. Tom had been through so much in his life, more than a lot of people despite not even being a teenager yet.

"-And I know he did the same for you. And even though you think he did a bad thing, you love him really, because that feeling won't just go away you know," Tom continued, ignoring what Rhys wanted. "Look at you now, staring around, remembering all this stuff you shared with him. Gilly was amazing. And I've 'ad Max die and then Steph and now Gilly. You've got to remember the good times though, haven't you. Like when Max took me to see the elephants and stuff like that; even just the small things. It makes you happy, to remember all the good stuff. Well-and a bit sad, but mostly happy." Beginning to sob but trying to keep his emotions intact, Rhys walked back over to the doorway leading from the kitchen to the lounge in hope that Josh would've finished finding out what he needed to know by now. He walked over to him, whispering in his ear.

"I need to get outta this place," he whispered, wiping his eyes. He noticed Jack and Frankie staring at him and knew he couldn't just say nothing. "I've done nothing. And neither has Jacqui. You've gotta believe us 'cos everythin's fallin' apart and we can't go on like this. I'm beggin' ya. And I need to go to this funeral, yeah? I need'ta say goodbye to me best mate." Josh tilted his head to look a Rhys, in shock by his words. For once he didn't add 'ex' whilst he spoke about Gilly being his best friend. Noticing the emotion on his face, Jack and Frankie looked at one another before Frankie replied to him.

"I can see that now," she replied, a little unwillingly but forcing her lips to curve upwards into a very slight smile. "And we'll think about it." Rhys nodded at her as if to say thank you, before letting himself out and waiting for Josh outside the door.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes: **Sorry it's been months! I've been really busy and stuff. I'll try and get the next chapter up asap. Also, please remember this is set November/December time so things in Hollyoaks have changed now. Sorry, this is such a badly written chapter but I wanted to get it up so that I can finally draw it to it's conclusion in a few chapters.

**Chapter Ten**

Rhys didn't have to wait long before Josh caught up with him outside the Osbornes.

"So what's changed?" Josh asked, just before shutting the door.

"What d'ya mean, bro?"

"Don't play stupid, Rhys. Something changed in there...You changed."

"Yeah well, it brought back a ton of memories, dint it. Ya know, bein' in that 'ouse again 'n' that," Rhys replied, in as little detail as possible.

"Yeah…s'pose it did," Josh agreed, putting his hand on his older brother's shoulder. It seemed Rhys going along hadn't been as disastrous as he'd imagined it would be. The two of them began to walk home together, acting more like brothers than they had done ever since Josh had returned. On their way back they decided to stop by 'the dog' to grab a couple of drinks. Rhys went up to the bar and ordered a couple of beers whilst Josh grabbed a table. His eyes wandered as he looked around the place. Out of the corner of them, he noticed a women sat on one of the bar stools staring over at Rhys-she was probably a similar age to him-maybe a little older. She had long perfectly curled light-ish coloured hair and seemed an average height. Rhys didn't even notice her which shocked Josh. Even when he was in a relationship, he always used to eye-up any remotely attractive girl in sight.

"See that girl over there?" Josh began, gesturing his head in her direction once Rhys had come and sat down at the table. Rhys gazed over and nodded at Josh, wondering what he was getting at. "Do you know her or something?" Josh asked.

"Dunnah, don't think so. Why?"

"She just keeps staring at you, that's all," Josh replied, trying not to make it obvious that they were staring back at her.

"Do sorta recognise her actually. Probs just some random I pulled-" Josh gave him a stare, forcing Rhys to add to his sentence. "Before Jacqui, of course." Lynsey and Doug came walking into the pub together, Doug looking miserable as always and Lynsey not looking a whole lot happier herself.

"What's Lynsey's story then? Why'd she hate Gilly?" Josh asked as he watched her walk through the pub.

"Who said she 'ated 'im, ay?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious," Josh stated. Rhys sighed at his brother before shortly replying.

"He was dating her. She ran out on 'im 'cos he weren't over Steph. He raped Jacq. Lynsey wanted nothing more to do with him. Now, can you stop with the questionin', Josh?" Rhys replied as fast as possible, bored of this topic.

"Alright," Josh replied dreamily as his eyes continued to follow Lynsey. He snapped out of it and his eyes were soon back on Rhys again. "One last question, yeah? Do you never wish you'd just come and lived with us, before all this happened?" Rhys suspired, he'd not thought about it, not for a while anyway.

"I dunno. Dint wanna leave this place, did I. When mum came back last Feb, I thought about it yeah, but I couldn't. But if I had done-I mean shortly after you guys left-then Jacqui wouldn't have been raped and Gilly wouldn't have been killed."

"Look, Rhys, I know what I said before, but I didn't mean it. It isn't your fault. You're my brother, I shouldn't have said that stuff. You didn't know things would turn out like this," Josh apologised, with a smile. At that exact moment, Frankie Osborne appeared in the doorway to the pub. She walked quickly over to Rhys and Josh.

"Rhys, can I have a word please?" Frankie asked, politely.

"How'd ya know we were 'ere?" Rhys asked. Was this women a stalker, or what?

"Josh told me you may've been coming here," she replied as she glanced briefly at Josh. Rhys got up and walked closer to her as Frankie pulled him further away from Josh so that he couldn't hear them speaking. She didn't want Josh to hear yet because she knew he'd object to her words. "Look, Rhys, I'm not really sure how to say this but..we don't think you should come to the funeral," Frankie said, a little sharply, sounding as if she knew exactly how to say it. Rhys' face dropped.

"Ya wha?" He spat out, shocked by her words.

"It's not hat we don't want you there. We just think it's what's best for everyone, you know?"

"You tell me 'ow it's best for me, ey?"

"Rhys, we want it all to run smoothly and-"

"And what? With me there it won't? 'Couse we're gonna be at each other's throats the whole time. Is that it? Or do you just think I'm just gonna randomally start announcing that he's a rapist during the ceremony?" Rhys replied, raising his voice as he began to get worked up.

"Well yeah, it is actually. Both, I guess," Frankie replied, bluntly. Rhys angrily stormed back to the table Josh was still sat on. "Guessin' you were in on this too, eh?"

"In on what?" Josh asked, not having a clue what was going on. Rhys sighed loudly and grabbed his coat, rushing out of the put as quickly as he could. In his rush to get out of the place, he flew right into Cheryl who was walking towards the pub.

"God Cheryl, why d'ya always have to do that!" Rhys shouted, letting his anger out on her, something that seemed to've been a common theme in the last year.

"Ur, _excuse me_?" Cheryl replied, widening her eyes. "_You _bashed into _me_." Rhys stared at her hopelessly, his bottom lip wobbling and his eyes teary. Cheryl shook her head as she noticed the sadness in his eyes. "What's happened, love? Not Jacqui again, is it?" Rhys shook his head and satdown on the step, Cheryl followed him, sitting down next to him.

"It's not Jacqui," he breathed out. He was too emotionally exhausted to bother yelling at Cheryl for suggesting it might be. Cheryl looked upward and Rhys followed her gaze.

"Oh hey Frankie," she said with a smile, looking up at her as she left the pub.

"Hiya, Cheryl," she accnoledged, before tilting her head to gain eye-contact with Rhys. "I'm sorry, Rhys. It _is_ for the best." As soon as she'd said it, she continued to walk off.

"How are you Cheryl? Oh I'm fine thanks Frankie, nice of you to ask, how are you?" Cheryl mumbled to herself, unimpressed by Frankie's lack of conversation. Rhys shook his head in frustration and Cheryl looked back at him. "Hang on, why was she apologising to _you_, Rhys? What's she got to be sorry for?"

"She's decided I can't go to Gilly's funeral, ent she."

"Woah…ok…?" Cheryl breathed out, in shock. "Well, do you want me to have a word with her or-"

"Nah. She's made 'er mind up, she 'as," Rhys said angrily. Cheryl put her hand comfortingly on his leg and kissed his cheek, with no clue of who was creeping up behind them.

"What d'ya think _you're_ doin' with'_er_?" Jacqui asked loudly as she came up behind the two of them. Rhys sighed loudly at the awful timing.

"Not now, Jacq," Rhys breathed out. Things were about to get that little bit worse and he knew it.

"Not now? Not now? When ya wanna do this then? Ne-next time she's got 'er dirty 'ands all-all ova ya?" Jacqui squealed. Rhys buried his face in his hands, facing away from his wife. How could so much crap happen in a single day? Living in Hollyoaks was exhausting.

"Who do you think you are Jacqui McQueen?" Cheryl asked, getting up to her feet. "Poor wee Rhys has just been told he isn't allowed to go to his best friend's funeral and you're talking like _this_?" As soon as Cheryl had mentioned the funeral, Rhys wearily raised his head upwards again, looking petrified. Jacqui shook her head backwards and forwards, disgusted with him as she began to walk away. Rhys quickly jumped up and grabbed her hand before she could get very far. She pulled her hand fiercely away but stood still. "When were ya gonna tell me you were gonna attend that-that **RAPIST'S** funeral?"

"Jacq, I only found out today yeah and it felt like sumit I needed to do 'n' that dint it." Jacqui shook her head once again at him before walking quickly off. Rhys slid back down, sitting next to Cheryl again-who'd sat back there once Rhys ran after Jacqui.

"Feels like everythin's goin'round in a circle or sumit."

"How about you and I do our own wee memorial for Gilly? To say goodbye? We could do it just by the lake over there, where he and Steph got married."

"Nah. Chez, if ya wanna go to 'is actual funeral, you go. Ya were one of the onleh one's'o stuck bu 'im, you should go."

"That doesn't mean we can't do something here as well though, does it?" Rhys nodded in reply and gave his best attempt of a smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes: **I forgot to say last time, but during my hiatus-or whatever you want to call it- Fanfiction added Jacqui, Gilly and Rhys to the character list for me, yay. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<br>**

Jacqui stormed into the McQueen's house, banging the door closed as loud as she possibly could behind her, in all her anger.

"What d'ell's wrong wid _you?_ Mercedes asked, with wide shocked eyes. Jacqui didn't often act like this; Mercy was usually the one doing that sort of thing.

"Bloody Gilleh causin' problems again, ent he. S'been dead just over a week and he's still-he's still just causin' trouble ent he," Jacqui replied; her words pouring out of her mouth quickly and frustratedly.

"Why, what's happened now, Jac?" Carmel asked, in a much more sympathetic tone than Mercedes, unsurprisingly. Jacqui sighed loudly whilst she flopped herself down on the sofa.

"Bloody Rhys moanin' 'bout not being able to go to 'is funeral, ent he," Jacqui exclaimed, angrily. "Wanna know what makes it worse eh? He's moanin' about it ta Cheryl. Cheryl! As if she ent caused enough trouble, er."

"Why can't he go?" Carmel asked, not really taking the rest of Jacqui's sentence in.

"I dunnah, Frankie won't let him or sumit. But that ent the point, right, is it Carm? He actually _wants _to go to a rapists funeral. Why? J-just why. Wh-why would he want to do that 'ey?"

"You can't stop him, Jacq. He probably just wanted to say goodbye. He did know him a long time, over 20 years is quite a long time," Carmel replied, wisely, as she sat down next to Jacqui and rested her hand on her sister's knee.

"Rhys ain't done nout wrong, sis. Why d'ya blame 'im all d'time?" Mercedes added, sharply. Jacqui sat quietly for a few minutes. She was thinking to herself, she hadn't been thinking straight at all. After managing to gather her thoughts and calm down, she sighed softly and bashed her hand against her head.

"God, ya lot are right ent ya," she breathed out, unwillingly. "Gonna go speak to 'im," she continued, dragging herself up off the sofa.

* * *

><p>"Look, I had nothing to do with Frankie's plan, Rhys," Josh explained, truthfully, back at the flat. Frankie hadn't really spoken to him about it, so he'd been as shocked as Rhys and he definitely didn't agree with Frankie's decisions.<p>

"It's fine, mate," Rhys exhaled, having calmed down a lot more; mainly thanks to Cheryl.

"If you want, I can try and talk her round, or-"

"Nah, Josh," Rhys interrupted. "She's probably right ent she. Chez and I are gonna do somethin' after. Just need ta sort things out with Jacqui now."

"_Again_?" Josh asked, emphasising the word. He couldn't keep up with Rhys and Jacqui's relationship. In fact, Rhys could barely keep up with it himself.

"Yes! She overheard me goin' on about Gilleh's funeral and freaked out, dint she," Rhys replied with a brief sigh. Just seconds after he'd stopped speaking the door knocked. As he was stood right by it, Josh quickly opened it and stared at the blonde girl who stood the other side of it, staring back at him.

"Oh heya, Josh, dint know you were still around, thought you moved to Spain like agessss ago," Theresa mumbled quickly, in her usual tone of voice, brushing her fringe out of her face and biting her lip. All she could really remember of Josh was when she was dating Ste and he was dating Amy, she didn't think he liked her very much.

"I did," he said, before turning to look at Rhys, giving him a weird look as if to say 'oh god, she's still crazy.' "I'll leave you guys to it," he continued, shortly before walking off out the door.

"Hi Rhys, is our Jacqui not around? Can't find her like anywhere," Theresa asked, having just come back from the SU bar and thought the flat was the best place to look first.

"Nah, thought she'd be at yours?" Rhys replied as he hand-gestured for Theresa to come in. She soon stumbled happily in, accidentally slamming the door behind her and jumping as it made a loud noise.

"Oh I haven't looked there yet. Just wanted to get her opinion on my new shoes. What d'you think, Rhys?" She asked, staring down at her feet and tilting them in different directions to get a good look at them.

"Ent really an expert on shoes, love. Ya want a brew while you're 'ere ay?" Rhys asked; bouncing over to the kitchen area of the flat.

"Uh, I'll just have an orange juice, please," Theresa replied politely as she sat herself down on the couch. "Are you and our Jacqui ok now?" She asked Rhys, tilting her head around to look into his direction whilst she spoke.

"Not realleh," Rhys said in an emotionless-sounding voice.

"Well what about the cops? Do they still think it was her? I can't believe Ethan, he's knows she'd never do something that silly, especially after Calvin and that."

"He just doin' 'is job, ent he, ey? They 'ave no evidence though, so they can't do nuffin, can they. Right though, you are. My Jacqeh wouldn't do sumit like that. Should've believed 'er from tha start, I should've," he replied with a loud sigh as he poured the drinks.

"Well you'll work things our with her though, I mean ya always do," Theresa said, with a reassuring smile as Rhys sat down next to her, placing the two cups on the table. "You know, I wish _I _had someone like you. I mean, it just never works out, does it? Will's all uni-obsessed lately and he hasn't got much time for me. Our Jacq's well lucky to have you, ya know." There was a couple of seconds silence before Rhys turned towards her and grinned.

"Ya think?" He asked, a little surprised by her words. She nodded as she pressed her lips together and smiled at him, shortly before beginning to sip her drink. "Cheers, T."

"What for? Dint really do nothing, did I?" Theresa replied; a confused look on her face. Rhys breathed out slowly and leaned forward a little.

"Everyone else is bringin' up all this crap from the past, ent they yeah, they don't realise that ah could've and 'ave changed. You're lookin' at me like, like in tha moment, gotta thank ya for that, ent I."

"Spose. Our 'Chaela said she thought you were well pervy back in the day. Auntie Myra too. They love ya now though."

"Don't blame 'em. Things are different now though, ent they. Just need ta get though this…some 'ow." Rhys smiled at her before turning to face straight ahead of himself. Theresa's words were making him feel a little more determine but he needed Jacqui to put in the effort too.

"Never really had chance to say this before, but I kinda still feel the need to thank ya for being alright with the whole Calvin thing, ya know. Oh and sorry me mum nearly shot ya," Theresa thanked him, opening her mouth half way and biting her teeth together, scrunching her nose up at the end of her sentence.

"You're me cousin-in-law, or sis-in-law, god, ya family's as messed up as mine. Point is though right, ya family, so ya know," Rhys replied. Once he'd found out about Calvin he was initially shocked and luckily drunk, but all he could really do after that was help. He'd probably have been a little hypocritical if he'd judged too harshly and he knew someone like Theresa was hardly dangerous, despite being a McQueen. The door opened suddenly again and Suzanne walked in with a few price slice bags in her hands. She smiled at Theresa whilst she walked over to the kitchen area.

"Oh hi Theresa, didn't expect to see you here, you ok?" She asked, whilst she placed the bags on the side.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Gonna head off now anyway, if ya see our Jacq, can ya tell her I was looking for her?" Theresa slurred as she jumped up and stumbled to the door.

"Will do. Thanks again, yeah, love," Rhys mumbled back to her as he watched her walk down the steps and leave the building.

* * *

><p>"Jacq….Jacq! I've been looking for ya like <em>everywhere<em>," Theresa called after her half-sister as she tried to catch up with her along the outside of Cinergy.

"What you want now, T?" Jacqui moaned, continuing to walk. "I wanted your opinion on my new shoes. Do you think they're too slutty"

"How can shoes be slutteh, luv? I'm sure they're fine."

"There was something else too…Will _youu _stop walkin'. Gonna break my ankle tryin'a catch up with you, I am," Theresa continued, after a loud sigh, forcing Jacqui to stop. She crossed her arms and stared at Theresa, sighing herself.

"Go on then, be quick though won't ya, got places to be, me."

"I really think you should give Rhys another chance," Theresa blurted out, after another quick bite of her lip.

"Already 'ad all this from the others, don't need it from you too, sweet'eart."

"But he's dead lovely and you two are like made for each other. I'd give anything to have someone half as nice as him, I would. He loves you well loads." There was a few seconds silence before Jacqui replied.

"I know, I know. I'm on me way over t'his now, aren't I."

"Could've told me that before I started saying all that stuff. Hurry up and get over there then," Theresa pushed her, with a grin.

"Kinda wanted t'see wha' ya 'ad to say 'bout him, dint I ay. I'll see ya later," Jacqui said with a cheeky smile shortly before she walked off. She quickly got her phone out and sent Rhys a text._'Where are ya, need'ta chat. J,'_ whilst she walked into the direction of the flat, presuming he'd be there. She kept her phone placed tightly in the palm of her hand so she'd be able to see his reply quick.

"At home," was all he sent back, but at least it was something.

* * *

><p>He opened the door steadily, staring at her with no expression on his face. He didn't like how she'd reacted before, it wasn't fair. But saying that, he did want to work things out, especially after what Theresa had said to him.<p>

"Theresa's looking for you," he said blankly as she stood facing him in the doorway of the flat.

"Yea, I urm saw her on me way over, din' I." Jacqui stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but no more words came out of his mouth. "Rhys…I've come t'apologise, love." Rhys sighed in response and dragged Jacqui to the top of the stairs and sat her down with him so that they could talk alone without Suzanne interfering. "Look, Rhys, I'm sorry, yeah? I know you 'n' Gilleh were dead close, I really do. It's just, what _he _did-" Jacqui began, a little hesitantly, stopping herself before she said anymore on that subject. "Out of line that Frankie is."

"I can't keep up, Jacq. From now on I need ya to be straight with me yeah? I know I've said this before, but this time we _have _to be. This is our last chance to work this out. We deal with this _together_."

"What 'bout the funeral, love?"

"Cheryl and I are gonna say goodbye to 'im separately, it'll be better that way," Rhys replied, with a faint smile.

"Well d'ya want me to be der too?"

"No Jacq! I've gotta do this without you there, alright? I'd be too scared I'd say something that'd-that's upset ya, or sumit." Jacqui curved her lips upwards briefly and put her hand on Rhys' knee; rubbing it softly. "Cmon, let's go for a walk, she said, with a smile still on her face as she got up and dragged Rhys up too.

* * *

><p>"Funny one your T is. Wanted to know what ah thought about 'er shoes. What did she expect me to say, ay?" Rhys laughed as he and Jacqui walked down the street; their arms linked together.<p>

"Never fails t'surprise me, that one." Just as Jacqui had reached the end of her sentence, someone began to approach them. She stopped a few metres away from them and just stared into their direction. She looked as if she was shaking a little, but she wasn't close enough to tell. "Can we help ya love?" Jacqui shouted over to her.

"Oi, you're that girl who was starin' at me in the pub before aren't ya?" Rhys asked her, talking a couple of steps in her direction. Jacqui grabbed his arm.

"Why was she starin' at ya?" She growled at him, not noticing the women beginning to wander away from them.

"Well I dunno, do I. Presumed she was just some girl I'd pulled or sumit."

"Urrr, excuse me?" Jacqui snapped; only half seriously, widening her eyes.

"I meant like years ago or sumit. Got about a bit dint I."

"I recognise 'er though, I just can't-." Jacqui went silent all of a sudden as she stared into the direction she'd seen the women disappear off into. "Bloodeh 'ell," she breathed out, rolling her hand over her mouth in surprise. "I think I know who she might be, Rhys."


End file.
